Pier 1 updates style for a new world

July 01, 2006|CHARYLYN VARKONYI SCHAUB South Florida Sun-Sentinel

If you haven't been to Pier 1 Imports lately, you won't recognize the place. The aisles are less cluttered and easier to navigate. The furniture is no longer stacked. Vignettes show how a room can be put together. The look is contemporary with global references. Colors are soft. Design is chic. Think Pottery Barn with an ethnic gene. Pier 1 used to be a shopping destination for those of us looking for a quick and inexpensive way to redecorate our homes with bamboo, wicker and imported accessories from around the world. It was global when most of the design world didn't look beyond Italy and France. But during the past few years, competition began to erode the Pier 1 franchise. Target introduced Global Bazaar, a multiethnic line that gets its inspiration from Africa, Asia, Europe, India and Latin America. Almost everyone -- from small boutiques to Wal-Mart -- featured ethnic-inspired imports at reasonable prices. In other words, the global marketplace destroyed Pier 1's global niche. Remember the ad campaign with a then chubby Kirstie Alley? And how about the short-lived ads with Thom Felicia of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" fame? Nothing helped. Then the folks at Pier 1 realized it was a merchandise problem. Misty Otto, senior manager of public relations, says the changes have occurred in the last three years. "The home furnishings industry has really evolved, and the competition has gotten much stronger," Otto said in a telephone interview. "It kept us on our toes. We didn't have the same niche. Target and Wal-Mart were coming in at lower prices. Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel and Restoration Hardware were getting us at the higher end. We were stuck in the middle. We needed to evolve our merchandise to give our customers something they weren't already getting." Being stuck in the middle is the worst position a business can be in these days, according to Michael J. Silverstein, author of the new book "Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the New Consumer" (Portfolio, $26.95). Silverstein writes that consumers are trading up, stretching to pay more for high-quality, emotionally rich, high-margin products and services. But, they are also trading down, shopping at Costco and Target to buy basic, low-cost goods that give them quality, reliability and elements of fashion and current design. The problem comes for those businesses stuck in the middle. Many of them offer "goods that offer neither distinctive emotional appeal nor better value than the cheaper competitors," according to Silverstein. These companies have to change their philosophies or go out of business. As a result, Pier 1 has launched what it describes as "the biggest design shift in the company's 43-year history." The new vision is Modern Craftsman, a streamlined contemporary style with a definite urban feel. Otto describes the new look as contemporary without being austere, impersonal or cold. "We needed to update our style because we know consumer tastes are changing," she said. "Our goal is to follow fashion more closely. The trends will go from the runway to the home more quickly. Our trend development team goes to shows all over the world, not only home shows but fashion shows." Otto said the furnishings will be contemporary with ethnic inspiration or details. The collection started appearing in stores in late March. The company also launched its first catalog to 10 million consumers last fall, which Otto said has driven traffic into stores.